


Stardew Mutations

by Magikarp_Karp



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Also the pairing is only a hopeful wish, Dahlia doesn't help, F/M, Gen, I have a discord now!, I'm having fun with this, I'm not good at romance, Imagination runs wild, Magic and Spirits, Monsters, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Pokemon, Rasmodius isn't a good guy, She thinks he's full of poop, The land is Alive!, Witch is a character, and it has IDEAS, art comes to life, art concepts, creatures come to life, it's sentient, just not to Dahlia, no literally, pathfinder and D&D creatures, she makes it worse, well he is..., world of warcraft monsters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:07:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 9,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23582827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magikarp_Karp/pseuds/Magikarp_Karp
Summary: Dahlia was bored. After Grandpa passed life seemed to fade.Years later she opens the letter.Now she has a farm. But what possessed Grandpa to name it Mutatia? What kind of name was that?
Relationships: Shane/Female Player (Stardew Valley)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 29





	1. The start of it all

“... And for my very special granddaughter I want you to have this sealed envelope. No, no, don't open it yet... Have patience. Now listen close... There will come a day when you feel crushed by the burden of Modern Life... and your bright spirit will fade before growing emptiness... When that happens my dear you'll be ready for this gift. Now, let Grandpa rest.”

  
  


……………………………………………………

  
  


Dahlia leaned back in her chair and sighed. Her red hair fell around her ears as she brushed it from her face.

This was boring.

Joja Corp. was the only one to take her uneducated ass and give it a proper salary after her refusal to go to college. She had wondered why… until she saw the working conditions.

She swore there was a skeleton a few tables away… and dust floated through the air as if they never fucking vacuumed.

The security camera at her desk moved to focus on the aisle, leaving her unattended for the moment. In exactly one minute it would move back for five minutes, then start again. Dahlia had counted the seconds once.

She opened the drawer of her desk. A letter with a purple seal stared back at her.

Her grandpa had been the only one who knew everything about her. They had been so close. It’s been years since he died… and it might be the time he spoke of.

_Dear Dahlia,_

_If you’re reading this, you must be in dire need of a change._

_The same thing happened to me, long ago. I’d lost sight of what mattered most in life… real connections with other people and nature. So I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong._

_I’ve enclosed the deed to that place… My pride and joy: Mutatia Farm. It’s located in my old home, Stardew Valley. The perfect place to start your new life. You may not remember it, you were very young when you were last there._

_This was my most precious gift of all, and now it’s yours. I know you’ll honor the family name, my dear._

_Good luck._

_Love, Grandpa_

_P.S. If Lewis is still alive say hi to the old guy for me, will ya?_

  
  
What kind of name was _Mutatia?_


	2. Chapter 2

Dahlia stared out the window. The bus moved slowly over the mountains and the ocean was visible in the distance. She turned her gaze back to her sketchbook and finished the final details on the Talbuk's horns, one of the fantasy animals from her past life, things she saw in games and mangas.

Yes, past life. Only her grandpa had known about it, but this wasn't her first go at life.

Before was just plain and boring. Games, mangas, and tv were the only entertainments she had found. No magic, no color, everything was blah. It had almost been a relief when she died. 

Magic exists here. She fondly remembered dancing with fairies and little round spirits on grandpa's farm when she was a little girl. That was all she could remember though.

She turned the page to look at a drawing of one of the spirits from long ago. Juni-somethings, grandpa had called them. She hoped that they were still there.

The bus parked and opened the doors. Dahlia shoved her sketchbook into her bag and stepped off.

A red haired woman greeted her.

“I’m Robin, the local carpenter. Mayor Lewis sent me here to show you the way to your new home. He’s there right now, tidying things up for your arrival. The farm’s over here!”

The farm was a mess! What had happened in those years that Grandpa was sick? There were trees and rocks everywhere!

Dahlia tuned out the banter of the mayor and Robin and began to plan. There were some dilapidated buildings on the property, she’d have to explore them later. They looked like a coop and a barn, so she should be able to get some animals first thing. Dahlia would not leave the beloved, magical old farm to be such a disaster. She swore it.

  
  


**That night…**

A soft wind blew through the scraggly farm. It hovered and whirled by the window of the old farmhouse. The window creaked open and the small twister blew through the cabin and stopped by the table, on which was a bag. The bag burst in a controlled manner and the sketchbooks pages fluttered in the wind. The book glowed.


	3. Chapter 3

Dahlia ran out of energy quickly. She had managed to clear some of the land around the house and plant some seeds but after watering them she was tired. She crouched in the dirt and stared at a boulder that she couldn't break up with animosity. Her dirty red hair bannered in the wind, tangled and wild. The fierce glare faltered when a strand smacked into her face.

Dahlia sighed and stood up. She surveyed the farm. It was a mite bit cleaner now that she had swept all the bushes away, but the grass was still overgrown and there were rocks and trees everywhere. It might take a few weeks to clean it all up. Well, she had time.

She went to grab her sketchbook.

* * *

The Kirin unfolded under her fingertips with certain grace. There was no way to color it but the individual scales and fur were shaded in ways to make them very distinct. Clouds surrounded its hooves as it flew through the pages. 

Ah, but it was nice to dream of these things, however these creatures didn't exist, unlike many others in this world. Dahlia glanced out the window at the glowing red eyes of the monsters wandering the farm.

Tomorrow she would go to town and talk to people.

* * *

She stared at the huge abandoned building. It gave off the same magical air as the farm did. It was closed though, so she couldn't go inside. There was a hint of movement in the window… but when she looked again it was gone.

Dahlia turned away. She still had people to meet.

* * *

Marnie the rancher lived outside of town, along with her niece and nephew. She agreed that the buildings on the farm were a coop and a barn, surprisingly both in very good condition for having been unattended for years. She offered up a few chicks to choose from, saying that they would grow quickly and lay eggs when full hens.

"I'm still cleaning up the place. Give me a bit to at least make a few paths?"

"Sure honey! Just remember not to cut down all the grass, the chickens and other animals eat it!"

Dahlia flashed a smile at the older woman and left, dodging a brunet man on her way out.

Then she paused.

"I thought chickens didn't eat grass?"

* * *

The library had no answers. There were many books missing though so that wasn't the end of it. Technology hadn't gotten to the level of her old world either. She missed the internet…

She left the building and immediately tripped.

There was a book buried in the dirt.

Dahlia's eye twitched.

* * *

Dragons formed on the pages. Dahlia made size comparisons. A true dragon would be about fifty feet long, but these were the size of birds. Some had butterfly wings that fluttered across the pages and others those of the normal scaled bats wings.

She whimsically drew the coop as their background, then laughed. It would never happen.


	4. Chapter 4

It’s a bad day. Old memories of her past life welled up. She missed her old family like a lost limb.

Dahlia stared at the pouring rain and then down at the dark page in her lap. A monster of shadows and eyes and fire stalked the sketchbook, looking at her with preternatural intelligence in its gaze.

She slammed the book shut. Her drawings were becoming too realistic. They looked like they would come to life at any second.

Hesitatingly, she opened the book again. The hellhounds eyes trailed down its neck and shoulders, staring in different directions as if to keep one out for danger. The sharp horns daggered forward like a prized bull and a mouth filled to the brim with teeth smiled at her.

At this second look, Dahlia smiled mournfully. Even this disgusting creature was happier than she. She longed for something to at least keep her company on this old farm…

* * *

  
  


“Oh, hello Marnie? What are you doing here? It’s so early?”

The rancher laughed and held out a basket. “I found this little one on my doorstep. I thought you might be lonely, so I brought him to you! He’s a bit small at the moment but it looks like he has some _wolf_ in him-”

“Wait, what?” Dahlia gasped. She moved the blanket from over the basket and stared at the charcoal puppy, who whimpered and licked her fingers.

Her heart melted. It seemed an answer to her prayers.

“I’ll take him.”

* * *

  
  
  


The dog, which she named Smokie, barked up a storm when the fairies came for a visit.

“Dahlia, Dahlia! It’s you, it’s you! You came back!” Little lights fluttered around the human and dog.

Dahlia started crying. She had hoped-

“Dahlia, what’s wrong?” “Aren’t you happy to see us?”

“No, I am! It’s just, I was beginning to think I would never see you again!”

With nothing but monsters around, she had begun to think that her magical memories of her childhood were nothing but dreams of youth. She danced happily with the fairies as the sun went down, Smokie jumping around them and the creatures of night staying far away from the fae.

* * *

  
  
  


Smokie grew fast. Soon he was up to Dahlias hips. He would growl and snap at the monsters that invaded at night, protecting her as she tried her hardest to pull in the ripe crops or chop down one last tree. His paws were still too large for his body though, Dahlia didn’t know when he’d stop growing. She commissioned an adjustable harness for him so he could help carry her foraging and crops to the store. The blacksmith, Clint, had said he knew a guy…

* * *

  
  


The Egg Festival passed without much notice on Dahlia’s part. She won the prize, a straw hat that was perfect for a sunburned farmer to not be so sunburned. She asked around about a haircut and was directed to Haley, the blond girl with the camera. That day, her long hair was cut short, a pixie-bob cut that signaled her new life in the valley.

Something that her new parents wouldn’t appreciate.

* * *

  
  


_Dear Dahlia,_

_I can’t believe you’re all grown up now… Time sure flies._

_Now that you’re gone I have all this extra money laying around!_

_Thanks for the pictures of the old place!_

_I’m so impressed with your progress on the farm!_

_Keep this up and dear old Dad might be retiring in a Fern Islands luxury bungalow after all ; )_

_Love, Dad_

Dahlia stared at the letter. “Smokie, eat this.”


	5. Chapter 5

Smokie was absolutely _huge_. And far more intelligent than a dog had any right to be.

“Sit.”

He sat.

“Down.”

He lay down.

Dahlia thought of something more complicated. “Roll over, jump, and chase your tail three times.”

After the third revolution Smokie looked at her expectedly, waiting for another order.

Dahlia sighed. “Okay, nod your head for yes and shake it for no. Did the magic of the farm affect you to make you this smart?”

Smokie nodded.

Dahlia threw up her hands. “Okay! I’m done! Go play, or something.” The dog nudged her carefully and turned tail to sniff around the coop.

She sat on the porch and put her head in her knees. “Yoba, I hope this doesn’t happen with the other animals when I get them…”

* * *

  
  


It would be interesting to have pokemon...

Dahlia looked at the quick sketch of a tauros, and another of a joltik, her favorite pokemon from Before. She started to draw other pokemon she had found on ranches in the games she barely remembered. A mareep, a mudbray, a miltank, an eevee- she realized what she was doing when the farm formed in the background of that one too.

Tearing out the page, she ripped it up, frustrated that her little fantasies were taking up so much time. Dahlia watched as the wind blew away the scraps.

Only the mareep had survived fully intact. Out of sight, it glowed.

* * *

  
  


This was bad.

Dahlia was surrounded by those shambling grass golems that haunted the farm at night and no way to chase them off. Her beaten and chipped blade trembled in her hands. _I knew I should have trained in the mines! Marlon said there were low level monsters down there to train with!_

There was a loud snarl. Dahlia screamed and fell to her knees when something _enormous_ soared over her head and began to tear up the golems with extreme prejudice. Fire blazed and grass went flying as the _actual monster_ attacked them.

Evil red eyes glowed in dark fur as the skull-faced _thing_ shredded with teeth and horns and claws and a sharp whip-like tail.

It finished off the golems with an ear-splitting howl and turned to Dahlia. She whimpered and flinched away as it stepped closer. It stopped in its tracks and whined, going to its belly to appear smaller.

“Wha-?” Dahlia straightened a bit. It whined again, crawling towards her.

Skin crawled unsettlingly back over its face as the horns faded into ears. The dozens of eyes all over its torso shifted and melted into the black fur.

It was- “Smokie?”

The huge dog-wolf- _thing?_ yipped.

Dahlia stumbled to her feet and Smokie caught her when her legs gave out.

“I can’t deal with this…”

* * *

  
  


Dahlia was determined to get information. She entered the town with the intention of tearing apart the library when Mayor Lewis called her to that old building. They had to work together to get the door open after it was unlocked, but once inside the magic seemed to explode in Dahlia's face. It was like the farm, but concentrated into a smaller space.

A little round spirit faint in her memories popped up behind the mayor. It waved and vanished to another room as Lewis was lamenting the little mud hut.

Dahlia offered to clean it up. The mayor gave her the keys. “You’re welcome to try cleaning up this place. Maybe if you do a good enough job we can reopen it, haha!”

He left her in the town hall alone except for the spirits. When he was gone she sprinted down the corridor to the room the spirit had gone to.

* * *

  
  


_My sources tell me you’ve been poking around inside the old community center._

_Why don’t you pay me a visit?_

_My chambers are west of the forest lake, in the stone tower. I may have information concerning your… ‘rat problem’._

_-M. Rasmodius, Wizard_

What ‘rat problem’? Dahlia was confused. And who told this ‘wizard’ that she was in the town hall?

But…

A wizard…

He might know what’s going on with this place.

* * *

  
  


The wizard didn’t know jack shit. He spouted some cryptic bullshit about being one with the forest and the juminos (which, Dahlia had a name now at least…) She had humored him with drinking the weird potion and got high enough to hallucinate becoming a tree, but really all the stuff he spouted came down to was that the land was alive. And it liked her imagination?

Whatever.

She climbed onto Smokie like he was a horse and they left.


	6. Chapter 6

Time for something new. Dahlia had gone back to the city for a day to read some actual books on animal handling. A chicken shouldn't be too hard to start out with. She went to Marnie.

"Oh hi sweetie! You need something?"

"Hi Marnie. I think I'm finally ready for a chicken." Dahlia scratched under her hat.

"Oh that's wonderful! Let me get- Shane! Shane, dear! Come here!"

The man Dahlia had almost run into a while ago came out of the kitchen. "What?"

"Shane, this young lady would like to start out with a chicken. Do you have any chicks for her?"

Shane shook his head. "They're all grown. All I have are some half-incubated eggs." He switched his gaze to Dahlia almost apathetically. He snorted. "Never raised an animal?"

Dahlia bristled. "I have a dog the size of a horse. I think I can handle a chicken."

Shane had half turned to the door and at that, he stopped. "...What?"

Marnie clapped enthusiastically. "Oh, dear! Did little Smokie really grow so big? You must be proud! Shane, go on! Get young Dahlia an egg to hatch. She has an incubator as well, so they should be fine!"

* * *

  
  


Smokie stopped growing when his shoulders topped Dahlia's head. He was a wall of muscle and fur now. He wore a harness with a saddle and some bags like a packhorse. Personally, he didn’t mind. It helped his master so he was happy.

Gently, he nosed at the incubator with its fragile cargo. He could tell that this would not be a normal bird… although his master was hoping for some mundane life to hatch.

The shell cracked. Smokie ran out of the coop to get his master.

* * *

  
  


That is not a chicken...

_ THAT IS NOT A FUCKING CHICKEN!!! _

Dahlia screamed as the tiny  _ dragon _ coughed flames onto the floor and she hastily stomped them out.

The dragon fluttered its tiny wings at her and grasped at her with even tinier paws. It croaked out a chirp and dove into the grains Dahlia had prepared for her new  _ chick- _

She took a deep breath and let it out. 

Okay. So. Dragon.

Dahlia carefully picked up the little baby lizard and it shed grains as it was lifted.

"Tiny." Dahlia decided. The dragon chirruped.

* * *

  
  


“Tiny,  _ no! _ ”

The fairies scattered as the little dragon snapped and sputtered flames at them. Dahlia scooped up the dragon and gently bopped it on the nose.

“Dahlia? Dahlia what’s that?”

Dahlia laughed. “Oh, it’s just my new ‘chicken’... I was hoping you guys could tell me what’s going on? You see, this little one hatched from a chicken egg, I was told it would be a few more days than it was to hatch as well…”

The fairies tittered and scattered. One came back with answers.

“The forest likes you!” Or not…

“What do you mean by that?”

“Haha! Your imagination is something it’s never seen before! It likes you! It’s giving you gifts!”

“Wait, what does that- mean- wait?!”

The fairies zipped away, giggling to themselves the whole time.

“I think I should have let you eat them…”

* * *

  
  


Shane sighed. His aunt had kicked him out to see how the new farmer was doing with her new chicken. He had given her one of Charlie’s eggs too… maybe it was a good idea to check on it…

“One, two! One, two! That’s it! Flap those wings! You can do it!” the feminine voice shouted.

Shane looked up from the ground.

The giant dog was laying on its side as the woman jogged alongside a small lizard-like creature that was furiously flapping batlike wings as it ran in a large circle.

...Where was the chicken? Shane cast his gaze about the farm, but saw nothing like a chicken anywhere.

The dog barked. The redhead (Dahlia?) came to a halt and focused on Shane.

“Oh, hello. What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I came to check on your chicken. It should have hatched by now.” Shane got straight to the point. He really didn’t want to be here…

“Ah-ha… yeah… chicken…” she mumbled and scooped up the lizard-thing. She presented it to Shane. “This is what hatched.”

Shane glared. “...That’s not a chicken. Are you trying to make fun of me?”

Dahlia glared back. “I am not. This is Tiny, and she’s what hatched from the egg you gave me.”

Shane snorted. “Right, whatever. I’m leaving.”

“No you’re not.” The giant dog loomed over Shane. How did it get behind him?

“This farm is magical! I can’t control what happens to the animals here, but this dragon is just like a chicken!”

“You’re crazy! You probably picked that thing up in the desert after you broke the egg!”

“I am not a liar! Smokie, show him what happens to animals here!”

The dog growled from behind him and he turned back to it… To see a monster from nightmares.

He fainted.

“Oops.”

* * *

  
  


Shane stumbled back into the ranch.

“Shane! What happened?! Are you okay?!” Marnie panicked.

Shane looked at her with haunted eyes and went silently to his room where he collapsed onto his couch, covering his eyes with his arm.

He laid there.

Then, a grin spread across his face.

He laughed.


	7. Chapter 7

“Why are you here again?” Dahlia wondered.

Shane shrugged. “I’m curious.” He held out another chicken egg. “I want to see if it hatches into a dragon as well.”

“Oh, so, you actually believe me today?” Dahlia asked archly.

“Deserved that,” Shane mumbled. He brought the egg closer to his chest and gently rubbed it. He sighed. “Sorry about yesterday. I’ve never seen anything really  _ magical _ before besides the occasional slime and wilderness golem. I thought that it was some elaborate prank. But to see your dog do that…”

Dahlia sighed regretfully. “It was pretty scary, right? I was scared the first time I saw him transform. But what made you want to test this out?”

Shane shrugged. “Just curious I guess.”

She led them to the coop where Tiny flutter-hopped to her, chirping all the way.

“You know, I’m still raising Tiny. I’m going to need some help with two dragons. I don’t know how big they’ll get.”

Shane deposited the egg into the incubator. “How big do dragons usually get?”

“Over fifty feet…”

“WHAT!?” Shane jumped back.

“Yeah, I don’t know if she’ll get that big. I hope she doesn’t get so big…” Dahlia trailed off, staring at the dragon in her hands.

Tiny chirruped.

* * *

  
  


“Smokie, go get Shane! He should be at the ranch!” The hellhound bounded out of the coop, avoiding the dragon underfoot, and  _ bolted _ .

“I hope it holds off till he’s here…”

There was a terrible scratching at the door. Shane startled Marnie out of her screech as he flung the door open to a wall of muscle and fur. It shifted back and laid down, revealing the enormous Smokie.

“Is it time?” Shane asked. The dog barked affirmatively. “I’ll be back later Marnie! If Jas asks, I’m at the farm up north!” He ran out the door and slammed it behind him.

Marnie stared at the door, confused. “I have never seen Shane so lively…”

The brunet man skidded to a halt, sending hay flying. Dahlia had wisely picked up Tiny so she wouldn’t get hurt when he ran in and the four of them (two humans, dragon, and hellhound) stared at the cracking and trembling egg in the incubator.

A little snout poked through. The eggtooth broke up the top half of the egg and the shell burst to reveal a scraggly, withered little thing. It fluttered its shriveled wings and whacked its tail on the hay. Little paws scratched at the rapidly drying goop in its eyes.

“Well, what is it?” Shane asked.

Dahlia leaned in closer as the shriveled wings began to swell like a butterflies once first out of the cocoon. Little antennae popped up from the softly scaled head.

“I think… It’s a pixie dragon? Do those even exist in this world?”

The now very colorful creature opened opalescent eyes and looked first at Shane, then at Dahlia. It hummed and squeaked.

“That… is amazing.” Shane carefully stroked the newborn's head with a finger. It hummed again and twisted into the petting. “What’s her name?”

“Let’s go with Mari.”

* * *

  
  


Dahlia was finished with work and bored to death. Shane was at the Joja Mart, which she hoped treated him better than the corporate offices had treated her.

Leaning against Smokie, she pulled out her trusty sketchbook and flipped through it, looking for a clean page.

She suddenly stopped.

It was the drawing of dragons in the coop.

She compared them to the dragons frolicking in the grass nearby. There were too many differences for that to be causing it, right? It wasn't her drawings, was it?

Nah.

* * *

  
  


Dahlia was bad at fishing. She rarely caught anything… and when she did…

“OW!” The shout came from under the dock.

Dahlia dropped her pole and fell to her knees, to peer under the dock. First thing she saw was red water. Obviously something was hurt pretty badly- “Elliott!?”

The top half of the man had surfaced to gasp in pain.

“What are you doing swimming when someone is fishing? Did my hook get you? Hold on!” Dahlia had spotted her missing bobber close to the man.

She kicked off her boots and socks and swung under the dock. The tide was out, so she didn’t have to swim very far before she touched sand.

“Please don’t come any closer. I can take care of myself- and you see it. Well, why not?”

Dahlia stared at the large fish tail that was freely bleeding away into the water. She quickly shook herself out of the small trance and put her hands on her hips.

“I don’t think you can reach that.” She pointed to the hook in the side of his tail about halfway down. It had obviously been yanked around a bit, the flesh had a pretty deep gouge in it.

He tried to reach and failed when his tail shifted with his movements. He sighed. “Very well. Would you perhaps help me with this?”

Dahlia knelt in the water and sand and carefully shifted the fishhook out. She pulled out a soaked handkerchief and pressed it to the wound.

“Can you change back with this?

Elliott shook his head. “I’ll need to let it heal. I don’t suppose you can get me to my cabin? I have bandages there.”

Dahlia whistled. Elliott yelped at the huge wolf-dog that came running. “Smokie, down.” She helped Elliott onto the dogs back and put the now unattached fish hook into a little container in her pocket. Holding the handkerchief to the wound still she slowly led Smokie to Elliott’s cabin.

* * *

  
  


They deposited the injured mer onto his bed and Dahlia followed his directions to the first aid kit. After getting Smokie’s help in lifting the heavy tail she wrapped the bandage around it a few times and tied it off. Elliott sighed and leaned back.

“Well, thank you for that. I didn’t expect to get caught in a fish hook today, Willy said he was going to be out at sea for the next month.” Elliott flapped the end of his tail.

“I’m sorry about this. I’m really bad at fishing,” Dahlia watched the green scales shimmer with red accents as he twitched and moved.

“You don’t say?” The man twitched again and brushed weighted hair out of his face. “Could you perhaps… not stare at my tail?”

“Oh, sorry. I’ll leave.” Dahlia stiffened and turned to go. At the door she let Smokie out first and paused.

“Your tail is really pretty!” she blurted out, quickly running out the door and closing it behind her. They went back to the dock to fetch her boots and rod, deciding to go home for the day, embarrassed.

* * *

  
  


_ Dear Dahlia, _

_ I thank you for the compliment the other day. I apologize for being snappish, I was in quite a bit of pain. I have since healed and realized just how rude of me that was. _

_ However, I hope you can keep my extra feature a secret? I would appreciate it. _

_ Thank you, _

_ Elliott _


	8. Chapter 8

“Do you mind if I bring Jas to see the dragons?” Shane asked.

Dahlia hummed and gently spread Tiny’s wing to look for parasites. “She might like the fairies more. Although Mari is pretty cute, Tiny here likes to breathe fire too much.”

“Fairies? You have fairies here?”

“It’s why my crops grow so fast. They come from the forest to play and the dust from their wings gets all over the plants.” Dahlia said quietly.

“Huh. Pierre was wondering about that last time I went to the store.” He shrugged. “So? Can I?”

“They’ll be here tomorrow evening. Go ahead, if you think she can keep quiet…”

“She will."

* * *

  
  


“Shane? Where are you going? The saloon isn’t open yet.”

Shane stiffened as Marnie came from her room. “I- was going to get Jas and show her something.”

“Show her what? All you’ve been doing is going to work and the saloon lately… and... Mutatia Farm… What’s going on at that farm? You keep running out the door to go there. I’ve never seen you rush so much on your days off.” Marnie gasped, “Did you make a friend? Are you friends with Dahlia now?”

He went past her and knocked on Jas’s door. “Jas, can I talk to you?” he asked the wood, ignoring Marnie.

“Shane?”

“Come in!”

He hurriedly left his aunt behind and asked his goddaughter, “Jas, do you want to see something magical?”

* * *

  
  


“She’s cute.”

“Mm?”

Shane looked at his companion on the porch steps, taking a sip of his beer.

“Your daughter.”

Shane choked.

Jas looked over from where she was playing with the glowing fairies and the pixie dragon. He waved off her concern as he caught his breath.

“Jas is my goddaughter! She’s not mine! I-"

"Don't worry about it." Dahlia soothed. “I don’t think it matters to her. She looks at you like you're her world.” She took a sip of her tea.

“Anyway, how did you know that the fairies would be okay with this?” He quickly changed the subject.

“They missed having a little girl to play with. When I was very small my grandpa introduced me to them.”

“You lived here before? I don’t remember ever seeing you…”

“Nah, only visited. I usually stuck to the farm. It was fun, helping out… Of course, I was the only one who thought so… It’s more work than I remembered, but I  _ was _ smaller then.”

* * *

  
  


Smokie hauled the stump to an area less shadowed. He nosed it to a viable position to be cut up when he heard a faint chanting of “What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuuuuuuuuuuck?”

He looked up to see Dahlia staring at... an egg? It looked like a regular brown chicken egg. Why this was a cause for concern, Smokie didn’t know.

“Hey Smokie, Shane should be at work, right?”

He barked affirmatively.

“Okay, okay, okay, so I’m alone in this freakout. What the fuck?” she whispered the last part.

She took the egg into the house and came out about five minutes later wearing her backpack and holding her fishing rod.

“I can’t handle this right now. Smokie, we’re going to the lake.”

* * *

  
  


Shane puzzled over the brown egg as Dahlia pet Smokie quietly. “Anything?” she asked.

“I don’t know. It looks like a regular egg. And you said this was in the coop?”

“Yeah, and Tiny was over it like she laid it. She was happy to give it to me, but… It looks like a chicken had it, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah…” Shane hummed. “Do you mind if I use your kitchen? I want to see if the inside is like a normal egg as well.”

Dahlia gestured at the door. “It’s open.” She followed him after a moment and watched as Shane made a fried egg after some fumbling around in the kitchen.

He took a bite.

Paused.

Chewed and swallowed.

“It’s a normal egg.”

“What, really?”

“I guess they really  _ are _ like chickens…”

* * *

  
  


There’s a storm coming.

The air seemed to crackle and snap as Dahlia moved through the farm, herding her dragons back in the coop and closing the door so they wouldn’t get hurt. She checked on her crops and followed Smokie into the house. The door slammed shut as thunder rumbled in the distance.


	9. SMOKIE

DeadDawn on discord drew Smokie for me! Hope you like him!


	10. Chapter 10

“You want to go out, in that? You’re crazy.” Dahlia stared out the window at the storm and then at her hellhound. He still sat by the door and looked at her expectantly.

“Oh, alright. I don’t know what’s out there but if you’re this adamant…” She opened the door and Smokie bounded out into the rain.

* * *

  
  


“What is this?” Dahlia glared.

Smokie wagged his tail and snuffled the giant egg he’d brought back. It was yellow, with a blue top and bottom and an orange ring around the middle. Dahlia glared for another minute, then picked up the egg.

It was warm.

“Fuck it. Why not?”

She went to stick the egg in the incubator.

* * *

  
  


“Gonna need to give you a bath, Smokie. That slime got everywhere.” Dahlia absently swung her sword to get the bug guts off it. Smokie gamboled ahead of her, not straying too far, and occasionally dripped slime onto the ground. He passed a girl with purple hair outside of the cave entrance and waited for the equally dirty sword user.

“What happened to you?” the girl, Abigail, asked.

“Slimes,” Dahlia told her, “Slimes and bugs.”

“You’re pretty brave to go down there…” Abigail stared at the mine's entrance.

Dahlia shrugged. “I was scared at first, but it definitely helps to have company.” Smokie barked. “See ya.”

Abigail watched the farmer wander off with her dog and looked down at her flute, lost in thought.

* * *

  
  


The incubator was old, but it did its job well. The huge egg had started to move occasionally, but it hadn't cracked yet. The dragons liked to watch it move, occasionally squeaking at each other and the egg.

"Um, Dahlia? What is that?" Shane peered into the incubator at the moving egg.

"You know what? I don't know yet." Dahlia picked Mari up and gently stroked her head, avoiding the antennae carefully as she purred.

"If you don't know, why are you hatching it?" Shane was incredulous.

"Glass houses, Mr.I-don't-know-what-this-is-so-I'm-going-to-eat-it.”

“Um... yeah, I got nothing for that… Anyway! Have you seen a lamb lately? One of the sheep wandered off in a storm a while ago and gave birth, but while the sheep came back the baby is nowhere to be found…”

* * *

  
  


"Smokie, we're going to Pierre's store. Come put your harness on." Dahlia waved the mass of leather and metal at the hellhound. He stepped over the dragons wrestling at his paws and lowered himself to make it easier for Dahlia. He whuffled and tossed his head in the direction of the coop.

"If it hatches it hatches. I need more seeds. And we have a bunch of geodes for Clint. Come on."

* * *

  
  


The yellow egg rocked back and forth. Minute sounds of tapping could be heard. A crack appeared, and then another. The shell burst.

A pause.

Then, a bleat.

"Mareee!"


	11. Chapter 11

"What kind of animal is this?" Jas pointed at the yellow and blue lamb-creature.

"I don't know yet." Dahlia shrugged at Shane who was pointing at the different colors and muttering to himself.

"Did that hatch from that egg?" He wondered.

"Found it in the coop with the eggshells. So I think so."

"Maaa," it came up and nuzzled into Jas's hand. Static crackled.

"Whatever it is, it has an affinity with electricity."

Dahlia gently tugged on Smokie’s ear and sent him to herd the dragons back into the coop. The lamb waved its tail and the orange ball on the end lit up with a crackle. It pranced to Shane and butted his leg.

He knelt and began checking hooves and limbs.

"Well, it's healthy as far as I can tell. I'd have to ask Aunt Marnie to check to know anything else for sure but-"

"Nope."

"What?" Shane and Jas looked at Dahlia who had a stubborn face.

"The two of you, I can handle. Nobody else though. This farm, it's not really been visible just how magical it is until now, but if everybody knows they'll all want something. I doubt I could provide. Nobody else comes here."

* * *

  
  
  


Perhaps she was being a bit paranoid. She already had evidence of people outside the farm knowing of magic (Elloitt came to mind) but she really didn't want to show anyone else what became of the farm. Even Elliott was keeping his own secret, so she felt justified in hers.

Jas didn't agree.

"Please, can I bring Vincent? I want to show him the dragons! He won't tell!"

"No Jas."

"But-"

"Jas" Dahlia knelt down "The magic, the dragons, they're a secret to protect everything. If everybody finds out, they might come and hurt the animals. The outside world doesn't know about magic, and I'd like to keep it that way. Okay? It's not for me, but for the animals.”

“Oh,” Jas looked sad. “Okay.”

* * *

  
  


Abigail watched Sebastian demolish Sam at pool once again. In the corner of her eye was bright red and she turned to see the farmer girl talking quietly to Shane at the end of the bar.

“Hey, Seb, Sam, what do you think of that farmer?” Abigail asked her friends. Sam cursed as the eight ball went far too close to one of the holes.

“Dahlia? She’s nice. She gave me some maple syrup from her farm. Said she heard I liked it. I don’t know _where_ she heard that but free syrup so…” Sam cursed again when Sebastian knocked two balls into the holes with one hit.

“I think she’s hiding something. Then again, aren’t we all? But that dog isn't normal, and it's not firefly season, but I sometimes see little floating lights over there.” Sebastian stood up. He cast a sideways look at Abigail. “...And you want to snoop around, don’t you?”

“Maybe. Look, if we leave now, we’ll have until eleven before they leave. And she probably left that huge dog inside the house. Come on, they’re busy and she rarely comes here except for Friday nights."

"This is a bad idea…"

* * *

  
  


The three teenagers snuck quietly onto the farmland. It seemed like a normal farm. The overgrown land had been cleared, rocks broken up and trees cut down and torn up for the soil to be tilled and covered in grass.

“Are you sure we should be doing this?” Sam whispered.

“Come on, chicken. We’ll be fine. Let’s find a window.” Abigail led the way deeper into the farm and to the back of the house.

There were three windows. They each picked one to peer into.

“I think I got the bedroom!” Abigail whisper-shouted.

“This is the kitchen!” Sebastian added.

Sam shrieked and jumped away from his window as a dark shape loomed out of the dark with blank red eyes and a wide toothed grin.

“What? Sam?” the two ran to their friend.

He pointed shakily to the window. “I got the dog.”

They turned to see the dogs face plastered against the window, heavy breath fogging it up and looking absolutely demonic with the moonlight reflecting off his eyes.

They booked it deeper into the farm at the deep bark.

* * *

  
  


“Guys, I think we should have left, not go further…”

“Shhhh!”

“Listen, there’s gotta be a way to the mountain from here. We can throw off suspicion going that way.” Sebastian pointed north. “Dahlia comes from that way sometimes to talk to my mom. What is this?”

They stopped in front of a small building with two doors.

“Aren’t you the expert? You live with the carpenter.”

“That doesn’t mean I know anything about that kind of stuff.”

They heard voices coming close.

“Quick, hide!”

“It’s open!”

“Get in, get in!”

* * *

  
  


Dahlia laughed at the tipsy Shane as he stumbled.

“Yeah, laugh it up. I don’t see how you’re not drunk, you drank more than me.”

“I’ve never been drunk before. I guess I have a high tolerance. Why’d you come here instead of going home anyway? You know this place is dangerous at night, especially if you’re unable to fight.”

“S’why I’m only tipsy. I got a dagger from Marlon, should be easy enough to use.”

“You say that now-” Dahlia was cut off by screams from the coop. She drew her sword and left the rapidly sobering Shane in the dust.

The door burst open in front of her and three teenagers tumbled out blabbering about dragons and fire. Dahlia stormed to them, and then past them when she saw that a fire was spreading in the hay. She quickly stomped it out and turned.

“And just what,” she loomed over the three, sword held threateningly “Are you three doing here?”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is shorter than usual because this arc ends here I think.

“Oh man.” Shane scratched his head before grabbing his dagger. With courage born of alcohol he stabbed at a golem and reduced it to clippings before heading to the coop, where Dahlia was berating the teenagers.

“And what exactly were you thinking coming here at night? Why did you come at all? This is  _ my _ private property and you are trespassing. You’ll be lucky if I don’t hold you accountable for this!”

“But we wanted to know!” Abigail shouted back.

“Know what, exactly? What was so important that you snuck onto dangerous land at night? You’re lucky you haven’t been attacked!”

“It was about the lights.” Sam muttered.

“What lights?”

“The lights that are like fireflies, but it’s not firefly season. Those lights.” Sebastian picked up. “They’re bigger than fireflies too!” Abigail added. “I can see them from my room!” “You didn’t say that before…” Sam whispered to her. “Shut up, we’re in trouble!” she whispered back.

“Yes you are. Did you think about asking?” Dahlia demanded.

“Come on, Dahlia. You know that you wouldn’t have answered.” Shane approached slowly, slicing an aggressive bat out of the air. “Been practicing.” he said in response to her incredulous look. “Anyway, it’s not so bad. So they saw the dragons-” Sebastian gasped quietly “-I’m sure they can keep a secret. After all, Jas does.” He turned a gimlet eye on the teenagers and they gulped as one.

* * *

  
  


“Well now we gotta keep it a secret.” Abigail complained. “If a little girl can keep it one then we have to!”

“I’m just happy that she didn’t use that sword on us…” Sam sighed.

“Forget the sword! Can you believe we saw actual dragons! They even breathed fire at us!” Sebastian gushed.

He was side-eyed by the other two. “You’re… really excited about this huh?”

“How are you not? It’s  _ real _ magic! Can you believe it?”

“ _ I _ can’t believe how easily Shane killed those monsters… I thought he was the town drunk?”

* * *

  
  


“Hey,” Shane touched Dahlia’s shoulder. She growled, sounding remarkably like Smokie.

“Come on. I should get home. You gonna escort me across the farm?” She growled again and turned to him.

He held his knife loosely as he glanced around at the darkened farm. There were no monsters in sight but that could change in an instant, he knew.

Dahlia finally sighed and stepped forward. She drew her sword again and snagged Shane’s arm. “Yeah. Let’s go.”


	13. Chapter 13

"Good morning Mari, Tiny! Come on out!" Dahlia opened the doors of the coop and went in, small basket in hand.

She picked up the eggs and headed for the barn. "Morning Ewe! Come on, free range day." The yellow sheep came out with a bleat and a crackle of electricity. Dahlia had finally identified her as a Mareep, a pokemon. She was just as intelligent as they were made out to be, and liked to practice electrical attacks on slimes.

"Alright. Smokie!"

The hellhound came to stand at attention.

"Keep an eye out here. I'm going to Marnie's ranch, see if she has any calves. Who knows, we might get something normal."

Smokie snorted.

"Yeah, that's a stretch, right? Herd the others away from the barn, and out of sight.”

* * *

  
  


"I'm sorry honey, the only calf I have was born prematurely. I can't separate her from her mother."

"That's okay Marnie! I'll be happy to take them both.”

“Really dear? Oh, you don’t have to…”

“I would prefer to raise them young so that they know me. It’s worked so far with the… chickens.”

“Well alright dear, I’ll send Patty over with the baby. Do you have a name for her?” Marnie came out from behind the counter with a clipboard and pen for Dahlia to sign with.

“Patty was it?” Dahlia signed the papers. “How about Cake?”

* * *

  
  


“I wonder where all the animals are?” Marnie muttered. She led the two cows to the barn and got them settled. There was plenty of hay in the trough for them and the door was closed to keep the heifer calf from wandering off.

She took the harness off of Patty and gave her a pat on the forehead. “Well, this is your temporary home dear. I hope you like it!” She turned to the calf who had lied on the ground as soon as they stopped. “Alright little Cake, good luck with your new home! Dahlia is a good girl, she’ll treat you right.”

She closed the barn door behind her and stopped at a flash across the pond. It looked like… lightning? On a clear day?

A little yellow blob pranced across the field. Marnie squinted. It looked like a very wooly sheep? But it was yellow and blue.

There was another flash and Marnie gasped. The lightning was coming from the sheep!

A little batlike shape swooped down and landed on the sheeps long tail and Marnie decided she needed to think for a bit.

She left under the worried eyes of Smokie, who had caught her staring from across the pond.

* * *

  
  


The cows were pretty easy to handle. They were calm and quiet except for the occasional moo, and the calf grew fast. Too fast actually.

It started with the hooves. Dahlia noticed that they were growing shinier and more metallic. It seemed the magic of the farm was taking effect on little Cake.

Then came the horns. Female cows didn’t really have horns. But these came in swift and sharp and a silvery color.

Then Cake’s fur began to mat. It was difficult to brush a cow on a good day, but this was just becoming ridiculous. Dahlia soon gave up when she saw that  _ that _ was turning silver as well, in little flakes that clung to the fur in odd patterns.

The oddly bulky, silver calf just added to her muscle with every mouthful of hay. Dahlia despaired.

Her bit of normalcy just went down the drain.

* * *

  
  


Shane patted the head of the silver calf. Now that she was weaned he’d come to take Patty back to the ranch. Cake looked like an armored bull more than a milk cow.

“Well, Patty’s still normal, so I guess it only affects babies and eggs?” He mused to Dahlia who was being crawled on by dragons. Ewe the mareep gently butted Shane’s leg and he reached down to pet her too.

"Maybe. I don't know. It could be. Honestly though, I don't care anymore. Whatever happens will happen." Dahlia said flippantly.

“What made you start to think that?” Shane straightened.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe the fact that none of this is in my control? Every time I try to get something halfway normal it mutates. I guess this is why grandpa called the farm Mutatia… And why didn’t he tell me that-”

* * *

  
  


Shane settled the cow back in the barn. She happily began munching on some hay as he left. Tiredly, he trudged back to the house. He had spent thirty minutes trying to calm Dahlia down from her rant. She had had a lot to say about magic and her cryptic letter from her grandfather, and not a lot was good…

He sighed as he opened the door and closed it behind him. With a yawn he headed for his room.

“Shane?”

He stopped, “Yes Marnie?”

She was standing in the kitchen with a worried look on her face. “Shane, can I talk to you?”


	14. Chapter 14

“So, Marnie knows.” Shane started nonchalantly.

“What.” Dahlia stated, not asked.

“Yup.” He shuffled Jas off to the coop. “You don’t want to be here right now Jas, go on and play with the dragons.”

Dahlia waited for her to be in the coop with the doors closed before exploding. “WHAT THE FUCK SHANE?! DID YOU TELL HER?!”

“I did not.”

“THEN HOW THE FUCK-”

“She saw Ewe and one of the dragons when she brought Patty over.”

Dahlia deflated. “I had Smokie herd them away. I thought that they would be fine like that if they were all the way across the farm. How did she notice them?”

Shane put his hand on her shoulder. “Ewe was practicing with her lightning strikes. Marnie saw the flashes. I’m sorry, Dahlia.”

“At this rate we might as well tell the whole valley about this place.” Dahlia humphed sarcastically.

“...Why don’t you?”

“Huh?”

“We can set up a festival or something. You have a ton of fresh fruit and vegetables, I’m sure Gus would be happy to help make them into something. Make a petting zoo perhaps, with the names of the animals on display. And what they are?”

“I don’t know what Cake is though…” they turned to look at the muscular bovine calmly grazing in the fenced off pasture Dahlia had built to keep the other animals safe. “And Smokie… I think he might scare some people.” They turned the other direction to where Smokie was swimming in the pond.

Shane vividly remembered the first time he'd seen Smokie transform. "Yeah, that's not a good idea. But the others would be fine. The dragons are cute and Ewe is cuddly, if a little staticy. Who knows, you may get other animals over time and want to show them off too."

“I’ve only been here since spring. How did all this happen?” Dahlia mumbled.

“A lot can change in a few months,” Shane said wisely.

* * *

  
  


“I know what Cake is now.” Dahlia paused in her hammering to tell Shane who had gotten his own hammer and was about to help. He looked at her expectantly. She rummaged in her pocket and pulled out a stone flower.

“So?”

“I found this in the pasture with a bunch of stone grass. Shane, I really don’t think a party is a good idea.”

“Why not? It’ll help a lot with getting the townspeople used to the idea of a magic farm."

"Shane, Cake is a gorgon. They turn things to rock. With their breath. I don’t know how to change it back. It’s dangerous, Shane. What if a person gets caught up in it?” Dahlia worried. “And what if-”

“Isn’t that why you’re building this fence?”

"Well…"

"It's to keep the others safe, right? I mean, an extra fence around this isn't going to do much in the way of protection from wolves or the like.”

“But what if word gets out and people start coming for us? I’m afraid of the animals getting hurt…”

“Lot of ‘what ifs’.” Dahlia sent a nasty look at Shane. “Look, I’m just saying that you’re making up scenarios that might not happen. All you can do is trust in the valley.”

* * *

  
  


“Ah, Dahlia! It’s good to see you! How are you today?” the mayor was surprised to see the reclusive farmer out in the town. It seemed that she spent all her days either in the saloon corner or at her farm working. It wasn’t healthy, but at least she had friends to spend time with.

“Hey Lewis…” Dahlia started, then bit her lip. She looked behind him for a second to where Shane was headed for Joja Mart for the day and he gave her a deadpanned thumbs up.

She scowled at him and turned back to Lewis who looked confused. “I was wondering if you and the other townspeople wanted to have a festival on my farm. I got a lot of fresh produce to cook up and the animals really like attention.”

Lewis scratched his mustache in thought and smiled. “That sounds like fun! When should this be?”

“About a week from now? And maybe Gus could help? Like I said, I have a lot of produce that can be cooked up.”

“That sounds fantastic! Should I send someone else over to help you? Wait, that day is your birthday, isn’t it?”

“Well, yes, but I’d rather say we’re introducing people to the farm. I don’t need a birthday party. I just want to have some fun. Would you like to come and see how we should set it up? I’ll introduce you to the animals.”  
  


* * *

  
  
“What in the world?” Lewis jumped back. Tiny flapped passed him in a rush to get to Dahlia, who took her into her arms.

“This is Tiny. Over there is Mari. Out in the pasture is Cake…”

“Dahlia.”

She stopped hesitantly and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “Yes?”

“Is this why you haven’t been around that much? These animals… Your grandfather once had strange creatures as well.”

“H-he did?” Dahlia stuttered.

“Yes.” the mayor gently patted her shoulder. “Although he wasn’t quite willing to introduce the animals to the valley. He would be proud of you, Dahlia, for taking the step he never did.”

“O-oh… really?” Dahlia was stunned and couldn’t say much.

“Quite. So, how do you want to set this up?”

* * *

  
  


The broom smoothly cut through the clouds. Gertrude was headed home after having chased a few ingredients down across the sea in the Duvos empire. Gathering these ingredients was very difficult when you just wanted some specific ferns and mushrooms... that only grew in a particular forest… that was being blown up and shot apart.

The clouds parted to reveal the beautiful valley Gertrude called home once.

She passed her ex-husband's tower and, in a moment of astonishing maturity, stuck her tongue out at it and cackled.

She swooped over the little farm that had been abandoned for years and… wasn’t abandoned anymore?

Gertrude pulled up and circled the farm. The land was cleared near the house and multiple buildings that looked like a coop and a barn had paths that led to them.

Well.

That was new.

Perhaps she should introduce herself.

* * *

  
  


Dahlia opened the door to see a mass of green and black. She blinked her tired eyes and the image resolved into a green woman wearing a black dress and pointy hat. She blinked again.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Dahlia asked politely.

When dealing with a witch, it is best to be polite.

"I'm Gertrude, dearie. I was passing by and saw that this old farm was inhabited again! I knew old Johnny so I thought I'd drop by and see who was taking care of his farm." The witch had a rather high, reedy voice.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Gertrude. I'm Dahlia. I'm the granddaughter of Jonathan Leon." Dahlia held out her hand. Gertrude gripped it with her own knobby green one.

"A good grip, dearie. And very polite. I think I like you."

"Thank you! Would you like something to drink? I have fresh orange juice and tea- gack!"

Smokie had nudged Dahlia out of the way and was nosing Gertrude happily.

"A hellhound? Dearie, have you activated the magic of the land?"

The redhead, who was gripping Smokie's harness to keep from falling, blinked at her.

"What do you mean?"


	15. Something's come up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's my discord and a note!

I started playing Pokemon Ultra Sun again and to my horror got another story idea. This... might take a while. I have a bit written for the next chapter though, I'm _not_ dropping this! If you want to try to motivate me, here's my discord! Please abide by the rules and we'll get along great!  
  
[Discord Link Here!!](https://discord.gg/KNRmms)

Magikarp_Karp


End file.
